Rebecca Adlington OBE is GB's most successful female swimmer who followed up her double gold winning Beijing Olympics with a successful media career and created a truly remarkable legacy with UK SWIM! which encourages children to swim 25 metres before they leave primary school.
Rebecca became a household name following her two-gold medal winning performances at the Beijing Games in August 2008 and her unique blend of charisma and charm allied to her dedication and professionalism in the pool has made her a global superstar, and a role model for female athletes around the world.
Her drive and thirst for success meant that she won a medal in each of the Olympic finals she swam. A four-time Olympic medallist in the 400m and 800m Freestyle, she won two Gold medals in Beijing 2008 and two Bronze medals in London 2012.
Following her success in Beijing, Rebecca was awarded an OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace and accepted the Laureus World Sports Awards ‘Breakthrough of the Year Award’ from Sebastian Coe.
Rebecca announced her retirement from elite swimming in 2013 and has since undertaken numerous roles in swimming commentary and punditry. A mainstay for the BBC’s coverage of the 2015 World Championships, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow, the 2019 and 2020 International Swimming League and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Rebecca is an articulate and respected media presence.
Following her retirement she announced a vision for her legacy; a swimming initiative with the goal that every child in Britain will be able to swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school. Her famous drive has been channelled into this vision ever since and across the UK, SWIM! delivers proven child-led programmes, by experts in premium and family friendly centres, to provide a best in class learn to swim! experience for 0-11 year olds.
Rebecca is a Patron of Women in Sport, the charity which works to transform sport for the benefit of every woman and girl in the UK. She is also an ambassador of the Encephalitis Society, a national charity and the only resource of its kind in the world supporting people affected by the illness.
Rebecca is a well-practiced and eloquent public speaker. Sharing the journey of her career, she talks about motivation and dedication as well as how teamwork is fundamental in achieving success in anything.
She talks about recognising what is truly important, focusing on wellbeing and how to find mental resilience when there are so many uncontrollable factors. In addition to speaking of her earlier sporting experiences, Rebecca also draws on her learnings as a business owner and how she has dealt with change.